We've long been fans of circular shapes that create interactive experiences.
In Barcelona, the open-air farmers market La Boqueria showcases an abundance of fresh seafood in brightly lit stalls that look more like space-age carousels than fish stands. Customers are able to navigate efficiently through the maze of vendors and explore the captivating displays.
We love the use of a rounded shape in retail, restaurants, and bars as a focal point that celebrates design and function.
Pantone Color Institute has named “Tangerine Tango,” a radiant red-orange, as the top color of 2012 to “provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.” The shade is very similar to the brilliant orangey-red obsession that we featured back in 2009.
Orange signals not only vitality, but also urgency and strength—associations that should resonate in a year where many are hoping to finally start seeing changes. “There’s the element of encouragement with orange,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “It’s building on the ideas of courage and action, that we want to move on to better things.
The color news comes days after a WWD report that Pantone and Sephora are launching a Pantone-branded makeup range for 2012.
Coincidence? We don't think so. Tangerine Tango would make a great nail or lip color.
Make-your-own customizable necklaces are emerging as strong holiday trend at various retailers including Anthropology (above), Urban Outfitters, and Madewell.
From a simple dog tag to personalized charms, mainstream retailers are hoping to tap into sentimental consumerism with private label products. The range of influences include decorative pendants with letters, numbers, animal figures, astrological symbols, religious references, and natural stones on fine chains.
These eclectic trinket themes and charmed arrangements denote a personalized talisman and "found" aesthetic with merchandising reminiscent of keepsake curio cabinets.
The DNA of this trend includes designers such as Jennifer Fisher, Solange Azagury-Partridge, Kimberly Baker, and Jennifer Zeuner, as well as branded jewelry from Tiffany & Co., Juicy Couture, Marc Jacobs, Dogeared, and Pandora.
We are loving the Bergdorf Goodman holiday videoUnleashed, featuring a pack of dogs who take over the department store to select gifts for their owners (BG is a dog-friendly store). Dogs had free run through the store, thanks to the Humane Society of New York, and the results are heartwarming. Check it out for yourself.
Predictions are only as good as sales at the register. Here are selected results according to independent researchers.
Thanksgiving weekend sales set records
- US consumers flooded malls and took to the Internet during Thanksgiving weekend, spending a record $52.4bn. Retail sales climbed 16%, and shoppers spent $398.62 on average, up from $365.34 a year earlier, according to the National Retail Federation and BIGresearch, reported Bloomberg.{source: Bloomberg} - A record 226m people went shopping during the Thanksgiving weekend, compared with 212m last year, the National Retail Federation said. {source: Bloomberg}
Shoppers allocate money to "couch commerce" on Thanksgiving Day
- For the 24 hours of Thanksgiving Day, same-seller gross merchandise value for retailers selling through Mercent Retail increased 18% relative to the same 24-hour period in 2010.{source: msnbc}
Online black Friday statistics
- Web sales on Black Friday surged 26% to $816m and 18% to $479m on Thanksgiving Day, said research firm comScore.{source: Bloomberg}
- Black Friday sales increased 6.6% to the largest amount ever, $11.4bn, ShopperTrak said in a statement yesterday. Foot traffic rose 5.1% on Black Friday, according to the Chicago-based research firm.{source: Bloomberg}
- For the 24 hours of Black Friday, same-seller online retail gross merchandise value for merchants selling through Mercent Retail increased by 23% relative to the same period in 2010.{source: msnbc}
Overall holiday spend
- The National Retail Federation did not raise its estimate for holiday spending: a 2.8% increase in sales, or about half of last year’s 5.2% gain. {source: Bloomberg}
The digital exhibit is a desktop application that will be available for download on December 5th and will showcase 50 years of archives through 5,000 images — including illustrations, photographs, runway pieces, and 95 fashion show videos. The exhibit will, according to WWD, use 3D technology to fully render the exhibit as an immersive digital experience.
“It is an idea that I had many years ago,” Mr. Giammetti told WWD, “after going through a great museum site and being able to navigate through these rooms full of paintings…I asked myself if it would be possible to recreate a vast computer-generated museum. We started designing and nothing really appealed to me. I wanted to have the light of Rome without looking old. I wanted to show not only the dresses but the history behind them, from the drawing to the women who wore them.”
I see it as part of my legacy,” Mr. Valentino continued. “I am happy that thousands of students, young designers and fashion people will be able to see and study my work in every aspect of it, and in a manner easy and accessible for the younger generations. But it is also important to remember things of the past, to review the fashion that has shaped our lives. I would call it ‘Future Memory.” Among the memories included in the vast archives will be the 1961 haute couture dress Elizabeth Taylor wore to the Roman premiere of Spartacus; Jacqueline Kennedy‘s 1968 couture wedding dress for her marriage to Aristotle Onassis; and the 1992 haute couture gown Julia Roberts wore to accept her Oscar in 2001.
It's easy to see why Garavani and Giammetti chose to make the experience virtual given the breadth of memories created during Valentino's expansive career. If the exhibit existed in an actual museum, it would need a venue with more than 107,500 square feet.
Louis Vuitton's most valued customers are now allowed access, by invitation only, to a luxury apartment above the New Bond Street store in London. Preferred guests can curl up in one of three lounging areas near artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Gilbert & George while working with one of six personal stylists. It’s the lone flat among within the Louis Vuitton network, although other locations have private meeting rooms and dressing rooms for one-on-one consultations.
According to Bloomberg, the retailer also uses the apartment, which has a bathroom but no bedroom, to host private functions, including dinners.
The apartment strategy is a clever tool for luxury retailers who want to sell more, but remaining exclusive. In a retail environment where elegant store design and customer service is commonplace, just the term "private apartment" creates a more intimate and exclusive impression of the shopping experience.
Devoting space to culture and comfort can be an expensive proposition, especially in a neighborhood where rents run as high as 1,000 pounds per square foot, but maintaining and elevating a brand's image is vital to its longevity. An invitation only salon, unlike an advertisement in a magazine, targets the brand's best customers while leveraging an image of culture, heritage, and craftsmanship.
It's a concept that, in more ways than one, is not for everyone.
We have a feeling that The Simpsons' episode The Food Wife has ruffled some food feathers.
Regardless of opinions, we would like to point out that the show hit on a variety of trends and influences — the intersection of various cuisines, popup food culture, and the ongoing conflicts between new media, traditional media, and chefs.
Writers captured the growing obsession with all things culinary in the song, Blogging a Food Blog, which was an homage to Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z. Grub Street interviewed Simpsons Executive Producer Matt Selman, who shared some of the lyrics:
I'm throwing down mad foodie game, knowing all the chefs' names
Rolling into K-Town for beepin' boppin' bulgogi
The hotties I chill with are sriracha and kimchee
Housemade terrines, my ducks are always confit
I braise with a billion more BTUs than I need
I cook a Thanksgiving turkey in a trash-bag, sous vide
Afumatoare in Brindisi Fed-Exes me salami
Don't scoop me gelato unless it's got umami
I'll be "Frank" like Bruni, "Ruthless" like Reichl "Wiley" like Dufresne, and when I take the mike, I'll Rhyme about radicchio, criticize Colicchio
Every pub is gastro, and all my beef carpaccio
A nod to the past (ballerinas) and present (non-ballerinas) at Repetto's latest Parisian boutique in Le Marais.
The cult shoe brand, created by Rose Repetto, captures the splendor of choreography with exceptional merchandising. It's no wonder that Brigitte Bardot commissioned her to manufacture a pair of red ballerinas for her movie 'And God Created Women'.
Beyond words.
Find more Trendscaping™ snapshots like this by following us on Instagram.
